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Weiser, Idaho, and taught
emotionally disturbed stu-
dents in Nampa, Idaho,
and elementary school in
Ontario for a couple of
years.
The move to Harney
County saw her start as
the assistant principal at
the high school for a year,
before taking the job of
assistant principal at the
elementary school and as
principal at the correctional
facility for incarcerated
young men.
“It was an interesting
job,” Hunter said. “It was
defi nitely a challenging job
because there was lots of
barriers. Our facility was
a high-security facility, so
safety and security always
came fi rst and education
came second. … We got
creative and while I was
there, we started a couple
career technical education
programs. Students were
able to earn a welding cer-
tifi cation so that when they
were released and went
back to their home commu-
nities, they were market-
able to get a job.”
That facility housed
boys ages 14-24.
“On their 25th birth-
day, if they still owed time,
they went to what the kids
called ‘up state;’ they went
up to the adult facility,” she
said. “We also were able to
off er dual credit through
Treasure Valley Commu-
nity College (in Ontario)
so students were able to
work on a college degree
so some of our high school-
ers were able to take col-
lege classes. It was pretty
cool to be able to break the
cycle of students not get-
ting a strong education. I
actually really enjoyed it. It
was not necessarily where
I saw myself, but I enjoyed
my time there. I was there
for two years.”
The past two years,
Hunter has been student
services director for the
Harney County School
District. As such, she over-
saw special education,
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facilitated the talented and
gifted programs, over-
saw school counseling and
more, including overseeing
the students from the Burns
Paiute Indian Reservation,
a small tribe north of Burns.
Eager to experience
Wallowa County
Hunter’s contact with
the tribe near Burns adds
to her eagerness to get to
know Wallowa County.
Although there’s no res-
ervation here, she’s quite
aware of the presence of
the Nez Perce Tribe and
some of its contacts here.
She said she’s eager to
learn more about the tribe
here.
But she’s not entirely
inexperienced in Wallowa
County.
“We’ve spent a lot of
time here,” she said of her
growing-up years and her
time with her family. “We
spent a lot of summers here
at the lake and just being
in the community. Once I
heard that Blake Carlsen
was leaving, I started
spending more time here.”
Hunter said she sees this
as a long-term move for
her and her now-12-year-
old son.
“It’s a move for our fam-
ily,” she said. “One day, I
hope that when my son will
go off to college and he’ll
want to come back and raise
his family here. We’ve very
much felt that in this com-
munity and just spending
time here, walking down
the street and everyone
waves at you. It’s a very
family-oriented commu-
nity. I’m really excited to
get to know everyone and
become one of the family
community members.”
In fact, she expects her
move here to be her last
move.
“This was the ‘forever
move.’ We’re hoping to
fi nd a rental here and get
our place sold there and
our hope is to buy a small
farm and settle in,” she
said. “This is a commu-
nity I can see being happy
in for a long time. Follow-
ing Blake, who’s been here
for 18 years, he speaks very
highly of the community.”
Wednesday, April 27, 2022
A5
Wallowa:
Continued from Page A1
and “soon after enrolled in
the Educational Leadership
Principal Licensure program
through Lewis and Clark
College where she expanded
her experience into 7th-12th
grade at both Joseph Char-
ter School” and into her role
in recent weeks as Wallowa
interim principal.
She joins Wallowa at a
time when the school has
momentum, she said, not
only as a level of normalcy
returns with the ebb of the
two-year COVID-19 pan-
demic, but also with Wal-
lowa’s recent reaccredita-
tion scores. The school was
rated by Cognia with a score
of 362 on a scale of 100-400,
and had the highest possible
ranking on 25 of 30 rated
categories.
“We’re the only school
out of the county that is
accredited,” she said. “I
think the whole process (is)
really insightful to see what
are our strengths. We have a
lot. … That for sure is part of
the momentum.”
She added as the school
comes out of the pandemic
that it’s important to look at
the lessons from those two
years.
“I feel like we’re
Score:
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for its standard operating pro-
cedures, the evaluator found.
Accreditation, Superinten-
dent Tammy Jones said she
learned through the process,
is important because it, in a
sense, validates the education
students receive at an accred-
ited school.
“Basically what they said
is it’s a process that shows
colleges, military and people
that kids have graduated from
an accredited institution,
from (a) high school, that
meets rigorous standards,”
she said of the explanation
she received from Cognia. “I
think that’s really what it is
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Bill Bradshaw/Wallowa County Chieftain
Wallowa Junior/Senior High School’s new Principal Sara Hayes, left, talks with school secretary
Jessica Nye on Monday, April 25, 2022.
rebounding into a positive
space,” she said.
She described a “feeling”
in the atmosphere of the
school — including during a
recent fi eld trip — as play-
ing a key role in her decision
to apply for the position.
“I think that the kids and
the staff , the feel that is Wal-
lowa and how unifi ed the
staff are in supporting our
kids. I think for me, just
being in there and feeling it.
It’s one thing to hear it, but
to feel that energy, is defi -
nitely what did it for me.”
Hayes said she’s carrying
a high level of excitement
for her new role, and hopes
to not only tell students’ sto-
ries, but put students in a
position where the story is
one of success.
“What’s really resonated
with me is we want to build
those experiences so they
can better know when they
head out of high school what
they want to do,” she said.
there. There is (also) a stamp
that, I believe, goes on the
diplomas. It’s kind of another
level of insurance.”
Cognia not only assessed
school documentation, but
spoke with students, parents
and staff in its examination
of the school. Jones said the
school sought to get a good
cross-section of the parents
and students — including dif-
ferent ages, grades, and levels
of success in school — to talk
to the evaluator.
Jones said the staff com-
ing together to give students
a quality education played a
key role in the high accredi-
tation score.
“What staff has come to
realize is we have to build
systems to sustain and look
at things more deeply. They
have been coming together
every Monday for a while
and just roll up their sleeves,”
she said, noting staff has
addressed questions such
as, “What’s quality instruc-
tion? What is it that’s neces-
sary for kids to learn? What
do we have to have in our
classroom?”
Jones said an aspect
learned during the COVID-
19 pandemic — the impor-
tance of relationship — has
played a role in helping staff
better know what specifi c stu-
dents need.
“We know the kids. We
know every kid,” she said.
“That is the benefi t of a small
school, but the staff here will
do whatever it takes.”
She mentioned, for exam-
ple, if a student is struggling
in a specifi c subject, the
knowledge staff has of that
student can help pinpoint the
cause of the struggle, rather
than just taking a shot in the
dark.
“What’s their aptitude?
Where is their strength areas?
Helping them build on that
and engage in school,” Jones
said.
As for the areas Cognia
said Wallowa needs to con-
tinue growing, Jones said the
work on that starts right away.
“That becomes our goals
for the next school year,”
she said.